Hawaii snorkeling

[karen327]

Can anyone recommend a good snorkeling spot in Hawaii?

 

How is the snorkeling near Honolulu?

[rsldonk]

By Honolulu is Hanauma Bay. Not a bad spot, but gets a lot of traffic.

[simonv]

Maui - Honolua Bay. Big Island - Place of Refuge, some call it Two-Steps, but the same spot.

[Ron_L]

Haunauma Bay is easy access but because of the traffic not as many fish. The fish we did see were bigger.

 

From Maui you can go on a boat to Molokini Crater. As the name suggests, it is a volcanic crater (doh!). Only about half of the crater is above the water so the boats go into the half circle. It is protected so the water is normally smooth. You will be snorkeling off of the boat over 10 - 30 feet of water but the water is so clear that you will think that you can reach down and touch the bottom. In terms of number of fish, color of fish and variety of fish this may be the best place I have snorkeled.

[King Neptune]

The best snorkeling we have ever seen is on the Big Island on the west coast where rainfall in minimal and therefore run off is also minimal. Down past Kona toward the southern end is Kealakekua Bay which is a marine sanctuary and is by far the best conditions we've seen. Below is a description.

 

With its natural wind protection, remote location and designations as an underwater state park, marine sanctuary and site of the Captain Cook Monument, Kealakekua Bay is earning a reputation as the best snorkeling destination in Hawaii. According to Hawaii – The Big Island Revealed, The Ultimate Guidebook, “Snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay near the monument is perhaps the best you will find anywhere in the state.”

At Kealakekua Bay an endless rainbow of blue hues color the water. In the protective embrace of a dark lava shoreline, an underwater world of magic and mystery is revealed. Schools of colorful tropical fish play hide and seek among delicate filigree forests of pale purple, pink and white coral architecture and dark fingers of “pillow lava.” In fact, Hidden Hawaii describes Kealakekua Bay as an “outstanding snorkeling spot with technicolor coral reefs and an array of tropical fish species.”

[adventuregrrl]

We were just in Hawaii and had lots of great snorkeling experiences and one disappointment.

 

Oahu: Before we got on our cruise, we rented a little beach house on the Eastern side of Oahu in Kaaawa (http://www.vrbo.com/47077) The water was a bit shallow, but we saw some interesting fish -- lizard fish, puffer fish, moorish idol, trigger fish, butterfly fish, and a snowflake eel. There's a public park nearby if you choose to do that.

 

The disappointment is that even though we were there before 9 am, Hanauma Bay was already full when we got there on a Monday morning.

 

Kauai: We did the Napali Explorer zodiac trip up the Napali coast. The scenery was amazing. The water was a bit rough so we only snorkeled a little on that trip. We did see chubs and caught a pretty good picture of them.

 

The Big Island: We started the morning at Kahalu’u Beach Park and the snorkeling was awesome. Most of the best pics we have are from that part of our trip. After a morning of snorkeling, we decided to go further down the coast.

 

We stopped at the Coffee Shack for a delicious lunch...the sandwiches are big enough to share and the pizza is really good. Two Steps is adjacent to Pu'uhonau o Honaunau Historical Site. The water was a bit rough, so we opted for seeing the historical site instead.

 

 

Maui: We had fun snorkeling at Black Rock Beach (behind the Sheraton) north of Lahaina. You can park in their garage for $20 and go to the beach. We saw some fish, but not many because of the folks jumping off the rock ledges. It's still a beautiful sandy beach and I'd go back.

 

The next day we got up early in our rental car and drove 30 minutes to Maalaea Harbor to get on the Four Winds II (http://www.mauicharters.com/). We were supposed to go to Molokini but the water was too choppy and ended up at Coral Gardens. We had a great time and this was one of the best tours we've been on. The Captain and crew were so much fun! We saw interesting fish and coral. Some in our group tried SNUBA. They cooked burgers for us and gave out complementary beer, wine, and sodas. I would give these guys (and gals) 5 stars and would have gone back a second day if we'd been in port. You can save a few bucks if you book online.

 

Snorkeling was one of the highlights of our trip. You can see some of our pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pierham/sets

 

I hope you have as much fun as we did!

[Sheralyn]

We loved snorkeling on Maui!

 

A couple of our favourite experiences were daytrips from Maui though...

 

1) Molokini Crater snorkeling was fantastic! We got the added bonus of enjoying a gorgeous Maui sunrise as our boat took us out to the crater. Once we got there, the water was calm, and there were tons of fish!

 

2) My favourite snorkel experience was our daytrip to snorkel at the island of Lanai though! We got to snorkel in a cove beneath some beautiful cliffs, as well as off the beach in Manele Bay. Since we were there during whale season, an added bonus was seeing dolphins and whales on our trip across the channel between Maui and Lanai. It was truly an amazing day!

 

Have a great trip!

 

Sheralyn

:)

[Victress2007]

Topping

[LadyPandora407]

Can anyone recommend a good snorkeling spot in Hawaii?

 

How is the snorkeling near Honolulu?

 

 

There are a couple good snorkling spots on Honolulu. hanauma bay has some good secluded snorkling. When we went the waters were a little rough, but from what I have been told it is rare. Turtle Bay has some snorkling and so does Sharks Cove.

[Lsimon]

The best snorkeling spot I've ever been to was on a ship's excursion at a Kona port of call stop.

 

Pictures:

http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/Cruises/Summit-to-Hawaii-Round-Trip/Kona-including-the-Captain/1400973_Z7vpQ#66295560_zcNvM

 

I've heard Maui is nice as well, but we went there after some major rains in 2006 and the waters were all murky throughout the whole area.